Texas Hospital Association urges Gov. Abbott to order statewide shelter in place

Gov. Greg Abbott is holding a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

AUSTIN -- The state’s largest association of hospitals urged Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday to order residents to stay at home, warning of rising cases of novel coronavirus in Texas and dwindling supplies.

“The time has come for Texas to issue a statewide stay-at-home order. We urge you to implement this strict measure to prevent widespread illness in Texas,” said the letter sent by Texas Hospital Association President Ted Shaw and Texas Nurses Association CEO Cindy Zolnierek.

Already 32 states, including neighboring Louisiana and New Mexico, have ordered residents to stay at home, according to the New York Times. While there is not a statewide order in Texas, major counties and cities have imposed restrictions on residents’ movement, though the rules vary from place to place.

“The faster and more consistently people stay at home, the safer we all will be and the sooner our economy can rebound from this disaster,” the letter said. “With surging counts and projections – and news of community pockets that are not heeding the warning to distance – a statewide stay-at-home policy will send a clear message about the seriousness of the threat. Ultimately, it will save lives.”

The Texas Hospital Association is making its case more than a week after Dallas area healthcare executives pressed Abbott to order residents to shelter in place. The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council on March 21 warned a surge of patients with COVID-19 could overwhelm hospitals by late April.

Dallas County was first to order residents to stay home and to shut down businesses that were not deemed essential. Collin County later issued a similar order, but encouraged most businesses to stay open and called all workers “essential.” Health care experts have said such a patchwork leaves the region and state vulnerable to spread.

Abbott is expected to hold a press conference today at 2 p.m. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Allie Morris, Austin Bureau Correspondent . Allie has covered Texas politics for two years and written about everything from tax policy to child protection. She previously worked for the San Antonio Express-News and in New Hampshire, as the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor.